Concord Board Of Education Members Eyeing Investigative Report

CONCORD, NH — Board of Education members in Concord are holding nonpublic meetings this week to discuss the findings of multi-month investigation into how a teacher accused of inappropriate behavior and later, arrested on rape charges, was allowed to stay in his teaching and special education preparatory position at Concord High School. This past Monday and tonight, board members have been eyeing the findings of Djuna Perkins of DP Law, a former prosecutor from Massachusetts, who has been investigating how and why Primo "Howie" Leung was allowed to stay employed at the high school for many months until he was arrested on felonious sexual assault charges in Massachusetts in April. The board has been meeting with Stephen Bennett of Wadleigh, Starr & Peters PLLC, who is the intermediary between members and Perkins.

Jennifer Patterson, the president of the school board, offered no statement about the meetings and said she was unsure when members would be speaking about the report's findings.

While the specifics of the investigation are not known, students, parents, teachers, and taxpayers, as well as the press, are waiting patiently to see its outcome.

The investigation began after high school students reported seeing Leung kissing and hugging one of his female students in a parked car on East Side Drive near the I-393 interchange, not far from his home, in December 2018.

After the students reported the incident to school officials, an investigation was held and the school's principal, Tom Sica, put Leung on a professional improvement plan, even though there were areas of concern that had not been fully developed. Some of those concerns included Leung's relationships with female students dating back to the days when he taught at Rundlett Middle School as well as a summer program at the Fessenden School in Newton, Massachusetts. Leung's union representatives pushed back on the plan, since both he and the student denied the inappropriate activity.

Concord School Superintendent Terri Forsten took the findings of the investigation to the New Hampshire Department of Education. Members of the bureau of governance and teacher credentialing at the NH DOE eyed the report and then, contacted Concord police.

During the course of the investigation by police, information was obtained that led to police accusing him of sexually assaulting a Concord girl while in Massachusetts working at Fessenden summer program.

Leung was arrested, terminated from his employment with the district, and is out on bail.

Residents were shocked and furious when finding out that an accused predator, who was named a distinguished educator in the district in 2012, was allowed to stay on as a teacher for so many months despite the allegations.

Sica took a leave of absence in June after it was revealed that another Concord student, Ana Goble, was suspended at Rundlett in 2014, after raising concerns about Leung's behavior to Sica when he was the principal at Rundlett.

The school district and board worked during the summer to create new policies, in an effort to move forward. But after Forsten lashed out at media coverage of the entire situation to teachers in their welcome to the new school letter, a petition requesting her dismissal as well as Sica's, was created, garnering nearly 3,000 signatures in a few weeks time.

Concord parents Dan Habib and Betsy McNamara, who have been active with the CSD Advocates for Change organization but are speaking on behalf of themselves, said beyond confidential information, the board should be transparent and accountable, so parents and residents could understand what happened.

"There is a strong perception in the Concord community that systemic failures within the school district – which may include actions, or inaction, by people in leadership roles – put students in physical and emotional danger," they wrote in an email. "Is this perception of systemic failure accurate? Did people in leadership roles fail to protect students from harm? Were concerns taken seriously and addressed promptly and appropriately? Is the school district culture one in which complaints of sexual harassment, violence, and bullying are mishandled instead of addressed through best practices and a trauma-informed response? Unless the report is made public to the greatest extent possible, we will never know the answers to these essential questions and the Concord community cannot begin to heal."

Darlene Gildersleeve of Hopkinton, commented on the report on behalf of a new group, Protect Concord Students Now. She called on the board to be fully transparent with the report.

"The public must be informed of systematic failures and mistakes," she said in an email to Patch. "The only way forward it to learn from mistakes and seek public input and ideas on how to fix things. Adding policies is not enough."

Gildersleeve said she and her new group were continuing to call for a change in leadership and the removal of Sica from his role at Concord High School.

ALSO READ:

• Parents, Students Vent About Issues With Concord School District
• Concord School Board To Update Public About Investigation Tuesday
• Concord School Superintendent: Letter To Staff 'A Serious Error'
• Petition To Remove Officials From Concord Schools Cracks 2,000
• Concord School Board Holds Emergency Meeting Sunday With Counsel
• Online Petition Launched To Have Concord School Officials Removed
• Concord Superintendent Lashes Out At Media Coverage Of District
• Concord School Board To Revise 'Professional Expectations' Policy
• Concord High School Principal Takes A Leave Of Absence
• Labrie's Former Counsel Not Hired To Probe Teacher Rape Case
• Concord School Board Opens New Investigation Into Leung Rape Case
• How A Distinguished Concord Teacher Became A Student Rape Suspect
• Students Saw Concord Teacher Kiss, Hug Another Student: Docs
• Should The Concord School District Have Responded Faster To Case?
• NH Teacher Held Without Bail After Bay State Arraignment
• Concord Teacher Accused Of Raping Student In Newton, MA

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